 |
 |
Dear All, I'm currently looking at a WWII Railway Control Centre, one of a series of emergency control centres built between 1939 and 1940 along the strategic railway routes and which housed railway staff with telephone connections to signal boxes, etc. along the lines within their locality. I know that such centres were planned for the GWR at the following stations/junctions: Paddington, Reading, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Gloucester, Worcester, Birmingham and Chester; and for the LMS at: Crewe, Willesden, Bletchley, Rugby, Nuneaton, Birmingham New Street, Stafford, Stoke on Trent, Basford Hall (Crewe), Warrington, Wigan, Preston. However I've only managed to find information on a total of five sites classified as railway control centres or bunkers. * Metheringham, Lincolnshire (Defence of Britain non anti-invasion database) * Crewe, Cheshire (Defence of Britain non anti-invasion database and Subterranea Britannica) * Chester, Cheshire (Subterranea Britannica) * Deepdene, Surrey (Subterranea Britannica) * Redhill, Surrey (Subterranea Britannica) The control centres at Chester and Crewe are virtually identical, a large re-enforced concrete structure, but very different from the centres built for the Southern Railway in Surrey. I'm trying to assess its significance and rarity of the Cheshire examples, so I'm looking for records or surviving examples of emergency control centres elsewhere. Can you help? Thanks and best wishes Rob Rob Edwards Historic Environment Records Officer Cheshire Archaeology Planning Advisory Service Tel: 01244 973667 Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Location: The Forum, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 2HS. ************************************************************************ Disclaimer: If you are not the intended recipient of this email (and any attachment), please inform the sender by return email and destroy all copies. Unauthorised access, use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council. The Council cannot guarantee that this message or any attachment is virus free or has not been intercepted and amended. You should perform your own virus checks. Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council may monitor emails and as a public sector organisation; the Council may disclose this email (or any response to it) under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Contracts cannot be concluded with the Council nor service effected by email, unless otherwise expressly agreed. The contents of this e-mail may be subject to privilege. ************************************************************************